Esther - Dunedin Consort - MusicWeb International

The Dunedin Consort, John Butt and Linn have already brought us some excellent recordings of Handel and Bach and this new Esther is worthy to stand with them. Their approach is on a smaller scale than that on Somm, as befits a putative performance at Cannons at around the same time as the first version of Acis and Galatea, which the Dunedin Consort have also performed (see below). If pushed to make a choice, I'd abandon the extra items and go for the new recording of the 1720 version. This was a strong candidate for Download of the Month - the singing is very good on both sets, but the Linn is more historically informed, comes complete with libretto and an excellent set of notes and is less expensive. The Linn recording also comes in 24/96 and 24/192 versions for audiophiles.